An apparatus is disclosed for measuring the position of a vehicle or a surface thereof on a roadway. The apparatus comprises at least one radar transmitter, which is arranged in a transmitting position above the plane of the roadway and transmits radar beams downwardly, a plurality of radar receivers, which are distributed above the plane of the roadway in different receiving positions at distances from one another, receive reflections of the radar beams from beneath, and convert the reflections into a received signal, and an evaluation device, which is connected to the radar transmitter and the radar receivers and is configured to measure the said position from the transmitting position, the receiving positions and the received signals.
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1. An apparatus for measuring a position of a vehicle or a surface thereof on a roadway, comprising: at least one radar transmitter, which is arranged in a transmitting position above the plane of the roadway and transmits radar beams downwardly, a plurality of radar receivers, which are distributed above the plane of the roadway in different receiving positions at distances from one another, receive reflections of the radar beams from beneath, and each convert said reflections into a received signal, and an evaluation device, which is connected to the radar transmitter and the radar receivers and is configured to compare with one another signal strengths of the received signals of the different radar receivers and thereby determine at least one radar receiver which has a weaker or a strongest received signal and measure said position of the vehicle or the surface thereof from the transmitting position as well as from the receiving position of the at least one determined radar receiver.
The invention is an apparatus that measures the position of a vehicle or its surface on a road. It includes at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road, sending radar beams downwards. Multiple radar receivers are also positioned above the road, spaced apart, and they receive reflections of the radar beams. Each receiver converts these reflections into a signal. An evaluation device connected to the transmitter and receivers compares the signal strengths from different receivers to find the weakest or strongest signal. It then determines the vehicle's position using the transmitter's location and the location of the receiver with the weakest or strongest signal.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the radar transmitter and the radar receivers lie in a common plane crossing the roadway.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus, which has at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road sending radar beams downwards, multiple spaced-apart radar receivers above the road that convert reflections into signals, and an evaluation device that compares signal strengths to determine the vehicle's position based on the transmitter and receiver locations, has the radar transmitter and receivers arranged in a single plane that crosses the roadway.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the radar transmitter transmits pulsed radar beams controlled by transmitted pulses and the received signals consequently contain received pulses, wherein the evaluation device is configured to take into account for said position measuring only those received signals of which the received pulses lie within a predefined time window after a transmitted pulse.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus, which has at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road sending radar beams downwards, multiple spaced-apart radar receivers above the road that convert reflections into signals, and an evaluation device that compares signal strengths to determine the vehicle's position based on the transmitter and receiver locations, uses pulsed radar beams. The evaluation device only considers received signals whose pulses fall within a specific time window after a transmitted pulse, improving measurement accuracy by filtering out irrelevant reflections.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation device is configured to determine in said comparison those radar receivers which have a weaker received signal.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus, which has at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road sending radar beams downwards, multiple spaced-apart radar receivers above the road that convert reflections into signals, and an evaluation device that compares signal strengths to determine the vehicle's position based on the transmitter and receiver locations, uses the evaluation device to find the radar receivers with the weakest received signals for determining the vehicle's position.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the radar transmitter transmits the radar beams directionally in a primary transmitting direction, which is inclined relative to the vertical, and in that the evaluation device is configured to determine in said comparison that radar receiver which has the strongest received signal.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus, which has at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road sending radar beams downwards, multiple spaced-apart radar receivers above the road that convert reflections into signals, and an evaluation device that compares signal strengths to determine the vehicle's position based on the transmitter and receiver locations, directs the radar beams in a primary transmitting direction that is angled relative to vertical. The evaluation device determines the vehicle's position based on finding the radar receiver that receives the strongest signal.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein each radar receiver receives reflections predominantly in a primary receiving direction, which is inclined relative to the vertical, wherein the primary transmitting direction and the primary receiving directions lie in a common plane.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus that transmits radar beams directionally at an angle and uses the receiver with the strongest signal to determine vehicle position, has each radar receiver primarily receive reflections in a primary receiving direction also angled relative to vertical. The primary transmitting direction and primary receiving directions all lie in the same plane.
7. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the primary receiving directions are parallel to one another and to the primary transmitting direction in order to determine the position of a substantially vertical surface.
In the vehicle position measurement apparatus where radar beams transmit and receive at angles in the same plane, the primary receiving directions are parallel to each other and to the primary transmitting direction, which allows determining the position of a predominantly vertical surface on the vehicle.
8. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the primary receiving directions are parallel to one another and are inclined to the primary transmitting direction in a mirror-inverted manner relative to the vertical, in order to determine the position of a substantially horizontal surface.
In the vehicle position measurement apparatus where radar beams transmit and receive at angles in the same plane, the primary receiving directions are parallel to each other and are inclined in a mirror-inverted manner relative to the vertical when compared to the primary transmitting direction, which allows determining the position of a predominantly horizontal surface on the vehicle.
9. The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the radar transmitter transmits pulsed radar beams controlled by transmitted pulses and the received signals consequently contain received pulses, wherein the evaluation device is configured to take into account for said position measuring only those received signals of which the received pulses lie within a predefined time window after a transmitted pulse, and wherein the evaluation device is configured to additionally take time-of-flight measurements between transmitted and received pulses and to determine from this the distance between the surface and one or more radar receivers, in order to improve the position measurement.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus for vertical surfaces, which uses radar beams transmitted and received at angles in the same plane, where the receiving and transmitting angles are all parallel, uses pulsed radar beams, and the evaluation device only considers signals within a specific time window after a transmitted pulse. The evaluation device also measures the time-of-flight between transmitted and received pulses to determine the distance between the surface and one or more radar receivers, improving position measurement accuracy.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the time-of-flight measurements between transmitted and received pulses are pulse time-of-flight measurements.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus that enhances position measurement by transmitting radar beams at an angle and uses time-of-flight measurements with pulsed radar beams and time-window filtering, calculates time-of-flight using pulse time-of-flight measurements.
11. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the time-of-flight measurements between transmitted and received pulses are taken in accordance with the FMCW (frequency modulated continuous wave) method.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus that enhances position measurement by transmitting radar beams at an angle and uses time-of-flight measurements with pulsed radar beams and time-window filtering, calculates time-of-flight using the FMCW (frequency modulated continuous wave) method.
12. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the primary transmitting and receiving directions of the radar transmitter and of the radar receivers can be changed during operation.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus where radar beams transmit and receive at angles in the same plane, allows the primary transmitting and receiving directions of the radar transmitter and receivers to be adjusted during operation to adapt to changing conditions or measurement needs.
13. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the radar transmitter and the radar receivers are each formed by a radar transceiver, which can be operated selectively as a radar transmitter or radar receiver in code, time or frequency multiplex.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus, which has at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road sending radar beams downwards, multiple spaced-apart radar receivers above the road that convert reflections into signals, and an evaluation device that compares signal strengths to determine the vehicle's position based on the transmitter and receiver locations, has the radar transmitter and radar receivers constructed from radar transceivers. These transceivers can switch between transmitting and receiving modes using code, time, or frequency multiplexing.
14. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a frequency of the radar beams is 1 GHz to 100 GHz.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus, which has at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road sending radar beams downwards, multiple spaced-apart radar receivers above the road that convert reflections into signals, and an evaluation device that compares signal strengths to determine the vehicle's position based on the transmitter and receiver locations, operates with radar beams in the frequency range of 1 GHz to 100 GHz.
15. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a frequency of the radar beams is 50 GHz to 100 GHz.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus, which has at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road sending radar beams downwards, multiple spaced-apart radar receivers above the road that convert reflections into signals, and an evaluation device that compares signal strengths to determine the vehicle's position based on the transmitter and receiver locations, operates with radar beams in the frequency range of 50 GHz to 100 GHz.
16. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the radar transmitter and the radar receivers are mounted on a mounting gantry spanning the roadway transversely.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus, which has at least one radar transmitter positioned above the road sending radar beams downwards, multiple spaced-apart radar receivers above the road that convert reflections into signals, and an evaluation device that compares signal strengths to determine the vehicle's position based on the transmitter and receiver locations, has the radar transmitter and receivers arranged in a single plane that crosses the roadway. The radar transmitter and receivers are mounted on a gantry that spans across the roadway.
17. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the radar transmitter transmits pulsed radar beams controlled by transmitted pulses and the received signals consequently contain received pulses, wherein the evaluation device is configured to take into account for said position measuring only those received signals of which the received pulses lie within a predefined time window after a transmitted pulse, and wherein the evaluation device is configured to additionally take time-of-flight measurements between transmitted and received pulses and to determine from this the distance between the surface and one or more radar receivers, in order to improve the position measurement.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus for horizontal surfaces, which uses radar beams transmitted and received at angles in the same plane, where the receiving and transmitting angles are mirror-inverted, uses pulsed radar beams, and the evaluation device only considers signals within a specific time window after a transmitted pulse. The evaluation device also measures the time-of-flight between transmitted and received pulses to determine the distance between the surface and one or more radar receivers, improving position measurement accuracy.
18. The apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the time-of-flight measurements between transmitted and received pulses are pulse time-of-flight measurements.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus for horizontal surfaces that enhances position measurement by transmitting radar beams at mirror-inverted angles and uses time-of-flight measurements with pulsed radar beams and time-window filtering, calculates time-of-flight using pulse time-of-flight measurements.
19. The apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the time-of-flight measurements between transmitted and received pulses are taken in accordance with the FMCW (frequency modulated continuous wave) method.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus for horizontal surfaces that enhances position measurement by transmitting radar beams at mirror-inverted angles and uses time-of-flight measurements with pulsed radar beams and time-window filtering, calculates time-of-flight using the FMCW (frequency modulated continuous wave) method.
20. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the primary transmitting and receiving directions of the radar transmitter and of the radar receivers can be changed by means of phase-controlled antenna arrays or an arbitrary selection of individual directional antennas.
The vehicle position measurement apparatus where radar beams transmit and receive at angles in the same plane, allowing the primary transmitting and receiving directions of the radar transmitter and receivers to be adjusted during operation, changes the primary transmitting and receiving directions using phase-controlled antenna arrays or by selectively activating individual directional antennas.
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May 1, 2014
June 13, 2017
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